What happened?
Shares of tobacco company Altria (NYSE: MO) jumped 3.5% in the afternoon session after The company reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share and revenue above expectations, raised its full-year adjusted earnings per share guidance, and expanded its share repurchase program. According to a company press release, Altria reported third-quarter adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.52, up 4.8% and above the analyst estimate of $1.51. Revenues net of excise taxes rose 3.6% to $5.44 billion, above the estimate of $5.31 billion. Reported diluted earnings per share rose 7.1% to $1.51. The company raised full-year 2026 adjusted diluted earnings per share guidance to $5.66 to $5.74, growth of 4.5% to 6.0% from $5.42 in 2025. The board authorized a $1 billion expansion of the existing repurchase program, which now expires on December 31, 2027.
After the initial pop, the shares cooled down to $75.46, up 3.4% from the previous close.
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What is the market telling us
Altria’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 4 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 12 months ago when the stock dropped 7.3% on the news that the company reported third-quarter results where revenues missed expectations, overshadowing an in-line result for earnings per share. The company announced adjusted quarterly earnings of $1.45 per share, an increase from $1.40 per share reported in the same quarter the previous year. Despite the growth in profit, total sales fell 1.7% year on year to $5.25 billion, short of market forecasts for $5.32 billion. The stock's sharp decline suggested that investors were more concerned with the revenue shortfall than the stable earnings, signaling worries about the company's future sales performance.
Altria is up 31.7% since the beginning of the year, and at $75.46 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $76.07 from October 2026. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Altria’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,711.
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